We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Heidi Dack a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Heidi , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
I came up with the idea to start my own business when my husband joined the Space force. I loved the ranch lifestyle but it was just not practical living on base, so I thought… how can I bring the ranch wherever I go? I always liked to dress up and wear different hats at the ranch so I thought I could bring a bit of that culture everywhere with my hats! I also wanted to prove that the West and ranch lifestyle can be for everyone! You can be a part of the Western culture and ranch life even if you didn’t grow up on one.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Unicorn of the West is owned and operated by Heidi Grace Dack. I grew up in the mountains of North Carolina, longing for the life on a ranch out West. After being able to fulfill that dream later on in life, I fell in love with the lifestyle even more. My passion for the West and what it stands for is the reason I started this company. I want to instill the qualities of the ranch in my products… resilience, courage, beauty, and uniqueness. Unicorn of the West’s mission is to make the West accessible to anyone, no matter where you are.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I majored in Outdoor Leadership in college and spent an entire semester learning in the field. We happened to be on the Appalachian trail during the storm of the century and were hiking through 5 foot snowdrifts. We all thought we were going to die because the conditions were so bad. A few of us cried because we envisioned our lives ending on the trail. But we kept pushing and praying and I kept thinking that I want to make it back to my family. And miraculously we did! It was a near death experience that created this resilience in me that I am so grateful for.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
My husband is my biggest supporter and is my business partner I would say. He is the love of my life and partner for life so I would say he is my business partner as well. It’s actually quite a cute story of how I met him. I was working in a little coffee shop in Kentucky when he walked in and ordered. I could tell that he had an Australian accent so I tried my best to talk to him an Australian accent and he just looked at me and walked away, so thought he hated me… but then he kept coming back to the coffee shop every day. Come to find out he really just came to see me so I guess I did something right!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.unicornofthewest.com
- Instagram: @unicornofthewest
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidi-grace-dack-b39aa6188
Image Credits
Hanna Stump Photography